


The Only Home We Know

by ReneeoftheStars



Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Battle, Character Death, Child Death, Fighting, Jedi Temple, Order 66, Younglings, clone death, sorry - Freeform, things go south very quickly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-18 22:25:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13691085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReneeoftheStars/pseuds/ReneeoftheStars
Summary: The Jedi Temple is under attack. Determined to fight for their home, younglings Katooni, Petro, Zatt, Ganodi, Byph, and Gungi make their way to aid the Jedi Masters in defense of the Temple. But the situation is far graver than they expected.





	The Only Home We Know

**Author's Note:**

> Written for finish-the-clone-wars writing Wednesday prompt: Invasion

“Katooni! Ganodi!” A fist pounded against their locked door.

Katooni didn’t want to answer. She was curled up on her bed, arms wrapped around herself, trying to shut out the pain in her chest. She couldn’t figure out why it hurt so much. It had hit her out of the blue as she was getting ready to go to sleep, as though the pain wasn’t hers.

“Ganodi! Katooni! Open up!”

On the other bed in their small room, Ganodi sat up. “What does he want?” the Rodian demanded.

“Go away, Petro!” Katooni yelled.

“Zatt, get this thing open,” she heard him say. The next moment, the door slid open and Petro burst in, followed by Gungi, Zatt, and Byph.

“Hey!” Ganodi snapped, hopping to her feet. “What’s your problem?”

“We need to go,” Gungi grunted hurriedly. His wood-hilted lightsaber was clutched tightly in his paw. Hesitating, Katooni saw that the other three all had their lightsabers in hand as well.

“What’s going on?” she asked, sitting up in bed.

“The Temple’s been attacked,” Zatt answered, sniffling. “There’s blasterfire all around, you can hear it even from here. And it’s getting closer.”

“Attacked?” Disbelief colored Ganodi’s voice. “Who’d be stupid enough to attack the Temple?”

Katooni stood, trying to ignore the pain in her chest. “Is it the Separatists?”

“We do not know,” Byph admitted.

“What we do know is they’re coming this way, and we’ve got to help the Masters _fight,_ ” Petro said, punching his fist into his hand. “We’re Jedi. And we’re not letting some dumb droids invade our home.”

“He’s right,” Gungi said. “We can’t just hide out down here. We’ve got to help. We’ve fought droids before – we can do it again.”

Katooni looked around at the others. She met their determined gazes, and came to a decision. “Alright. But we’ve got to go slow, make sure we know what’s going on. And we do _whatever_ we’re told,” she added, glancing at the Human boy. “The Masters might want us to go hide so we don’t get in their way.”

“Maybe not,” Zatt said, sighing as he pocketed his datapad. “All the comm systems have been jammed. There’s no way to get a message to anyone in the Temple. We’re small and fast – maybe we could act as messengers. We could help the Masters organize.”

“Great idea!” Petro clapped the Nautolan on the shoulder. “Let’s go!” And before Katooni could think of anything to say, he had raced back out the door. Katooni grabbed her lightsaber and followed the boy into the hallway, the others close behind her.

This wing of the Temple had nothing but rooms inhabited by older younglings. Most of the doors were closed, and Katooni wondered if the others were trying to sleep, or if they had snuck out into the rest of the building. Technically it was after curfew, but that had never stopped anyone from wandering the halls at all hours.

Now that she was paying attention, she heard it; the scream of blaster bolts, the hum of lightsabers, the crackle as the two energy weapons collided. She felt a flash of the excitement that Petro must have had coursing through his veins – something important was happening, and they had a chance to be a part of it. But the energy faded almost immediately as reality came back to her; this was war, a war they had no experience in.

By the time they caught up to Petro, they had wound through several corridors. He waved them over as he peered around the corner into one of the main hallways.

“Look,” he said, green eyes eager. “Clones! The Masters must have called for backup.”

Katooni leaned around the corner to see. Sure enough, a group of six white-armored soldiers jogged towards them, helmets and attention turned towards an adjoining hall.

“How could they have?” Zatt wondered. “Comms are down.”

“Maybe they got a message through before the Separatists blocked the frequencies,” Byph suggested.

The clones veered off down the other hall, all but one disappearing from view. The remaining clone positioned himself with his back towards Katooni and the others, and she guessed he was carefully watching the other two corridors.

“Come on.” Petro started forward.

Ganodi lunged forward and grabbed his hand. “Petro, wait.”

“What?” he asked in annoyance.

Ganodi’s eyes were wide. Her hands shook. “I have a really bad feeling. An awful, awful feeling. We should go.”

“I agree,” Byph murmured, holding his lightsaber close for comfort. The edges of both his mouths trembled. “My heart hurts. Something is wrong in the Force.”

Petro brushed off Ganodi’s hand. “Hey, we’ve all felt it. And this is what’s wrong, here and now. We’re being attacked. Our _home_ is being invaded. And we need to do something about it.”

“Petro, they have a point,” Katooni said. Watching the clone, she felt uneasy. “Let’s let the clone do his job, and we’ll go find a Master.”

The boy shook his head. “You’re all being ridiculous.” Dodging Gungi’s outstretched arm, he darted around the corner and went straight for the clone trooper.

The others close behind her, Katooni stepped gingerly out into the main thoroughfare. She felt a sudden certainty that they were in immediate danger, that they needed to leave _now._ Surely Petro felt it too.

She watched him approach the clone, heard him say, “Trooper! What’s the situation here?”

The clone turned to look at him. Then his blaster was up, pointed, firing –

“PETRO!” Katooni cried.

Her friend jerked as the blaster bolts tore through him. He hit the floor with a thud, lightsaber rolling out of his grasp.

Ganodi screamed, Gungi roared, the clone aimed the blaster at them –

Byph threw his hands out, and the clone was thrown backwards, hitting the wall and crumpling to the ground.

“RUN!” Zatt cried, grabbing the Ithorian’s still-outstretched arm and pulling him along. “Come on – Katooni!”

Katooni felt rooted to the spot. She couldn’t take her eyes away from the body down the hall. She had to get to him, get him down to the healers. She took a step forward –

With a roar, Gungi tackled her, blasterfire soaring just past their heads as they fell behind the cover of a pillar. Four more clones had appeared, racing towards them and firing at them. Blinking rapidly, Katooni let Gungi haul her to her feet and pull her along as they sprinted after their friends.

“What are they doing?” Ganodi shrieked.

“Later!” Zatt insisted. “Just run!”

They barreled deeper into the Temple, darting down the maze of corridors, the clones just behind them but unable to get a clear shot.

Katooni rounded a corner and nearly crashed into Byph, who had stopped dead. It only took her a heartbeat to realize why. Ahead of them, another four clone troopers raced down the hall, blasters trained on the younglings. Without thinking, she activated her lightsaber.

Blades of light sprung up around her as the others moved, standing back-to-back to face the troopers. Blue bolts streamed towards them, and Katooni shut down every emotion, every fear that she could, and opened herself to the Force. She had never moved so fast, her lightsaber a blur as she deflect bolt after bolt. She could feel the others beside and behind her, could feel their determination and concentration.

The clones had surrounded them completely, but stayed far enough back that they were out of lightsabers reach, all while continuing the rain of blasterfire.

“I’ll cut them down,” Ganodi yelled, bending her legs as she prepared to leap.

“NO!” Byph cried. “If you break, there will be a hole! And we will not be able to cover you.”

“We can’t just stand here!” Gungi roared in frustration. “They’ll kill us!”

The words twisted in Katooni’s skull. _Kill us. Like they killed Petro_. Her concentration slipped, just for an instant, and a blaster bolt sailed past her lightsaber, piercing her shoulder.

Several things happened all at once. Katooni shrieked in pain and staggered backwards into Zatt, throwing the boy off-balance. The troopers stepped forward, ready to press their advantage. And a long green saber spun straight through three of the troopers’ necks.

The clones ceased fire for a split second as they registered the three bodies collapsing to the ground, then turned their fire on the tall figure that leapt towards them.

The Jedi moved with devastating swiftness, calling his lightsaber back to him and bringing it down on the nearest clone as he landed. He whirled around, raising his fist and sending two more troopers flying. As they crashed into the wall, Katooni jumped forward, swinging her lightsaber one-handed and severing the arm of the closest trooper. Her heart stuttered as her saber passed smoothly, effortlessly through the armor, flesh, and bone, and the man fell back, screaming. The others descended on the remaining three clones, driving them back and giving the Master time to finish them off.

And just like that, they were left standing amid white-armored bodies and the hum of lightsabers. The Jedi Master extinguished his blade and the younglings followed suit. Katooni found the resulting silence deafening.

“Thank you, Master,” Zatt said, slumping against a wall and taking deep breaths. “If you hadn’t shown up…”

“It’s alright, young one.” The Arcona, Katooni realized, was very young. Though clearly a Jedi Knight, he could not have been much older than eighteen. She supposed she couldn’t be too surprised; it was common knowledge that the Jedi Council had accelerated the knighting of Padawans during the war. “I am Ram Ilesar.”

“Master Ilesar, what is happening?” Byph asked. His hands shook. “The clones…I thought they were on our side.”

“We all did.” Katooni winced at the harshness in his voice.

“So…it’s not the Separatists that are attacking the Temple?” Gungi asked.

“No.” Ilesar’s wide-set yellow eyes narrowed. “A legion of clones marched through the main entrance, as far as I can tell. I was leaving the cafeteria in the south wing when I saw them –” he cut off abruptly. “They’re going hall by hall, killing every Jedi they see,” he finished gruffly.

The young Knight shook his triangular head, then refocused on them. “We must leave the Temple.”

Silence greeted his words, and Katooni realized with a jolt that she was waiting for Petro to protest that they needed to fight back.

Seeming to come to the same conclusion, Ganodi stuttered, “But…but all the others! The little ones in the crèche…”

Katooni’s heart twisted, and Ilesar grimaced. “There’s nothing we can do for them. There’s not enough Jedi here to face the clones – there are hundreds of them. Anyone who stays will be slaughtered. I am sorry. Now come on.” He turned and jogged down a west-bound hallway.

Zatt laid a hand on Katooni’s uninjured shoulder, peering at her wound. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine. It’s nothing.” It stung, but she realized that it had just been a glancing blow.

Gungi tottered on the balls of his feet, looking uncertain. “Do we go with him? Do we run away? Do we just…leave our home?”

Byph fidgeted. “It is the only home we know.”

Ganodi hugged herself. “Do we have a choice?”

“Younglings!” Ilesar had stopped. “Come!”

Exchanging a glance, Katooni and the others hurried after him.

The Arcona led them down the maze of corridors, deeper and deeper into the Temple. _Just run,_ she told herself. _Just run. Don’t think. Don’t think about Petro._ But how could she not think? She and Petro disagreed on how thing should be done, yes, but he was her best friend. She had hoped that he was alive; but the hole in her heart told her the truth. Blinking back tears, she did her best to force the thoughts away, and focused on the pounding of her feet, the ragged breaths tearing through her lungs. She knew these halls, of course, but she couldn’t see for the life of her how going in further was going to get them out.

“Master,” she said finally, as the Jedi slowed, “where are we going?”

Concentrating, he ran his hand along the length of the wall. “I’m looking for… here!” He thumped the wall with a fist emphatically, then stepped back. He let out a breath as he closed his eyes and raised his hands. He stood still for several moments, and Katooni felt the Force move around them.

Suddenly the solid wall began groaning, dust falling from its crevices as it shifted. Katooni watched in wonder as the wall moved sideways, revealing a tiny, dim passage extending into darkness.

“I didn’t know this was here!” Zatt sounded half impressed, half offended. “It’s not on any Temple maps.”

“The Temple has been expanded time and time again,” Ilesar explained. “My master told me that there are several passages that got covered up, but never destroyed.” He bent down and peered through the opening. “Ah. This one’s smaller than my master said.” He glanced up at Gungi. “You should still be able to squeeze through, young one.”

“But what about you?” Gungi asked.

“I’ll have to find one of the other passages out. I’ll have to backtrack and go to a different wing, but…” Ilesar hesitated. Katooni wondered if he was afraid. “I’ll find my way. I may be able to grab a few others and get them out too.” He straightened. “This passage will take you to the lower levels of the city. I don’t know where, exactly. Wherever you come out, lay low. I don’t know why this is happening, or who’s behind it. Until you know, you’ll have to hide that you are Jedi.”

Katooni clutched her lightsaber tightly. “But – if we can’t be Jedi, what are we? What will we be?”

“Alive,” Ilesar said firmly. His expression softened. “Go now. I’ll close the way behind you, so the clones can’t follow.”

Unable to form the words she wanted to say, Katooni stepped into the passage. Slowly, Zatt followed, and behind him entered Byph and Ganodi. Gungi brought up the rear, ducking as he went.

Behind them, Katooni heard Ilesar call, “Remember to trust your instincts. May the Force be with you, young ones.” A grinding noise filled the passageway as the wall slid shut behind them, plunging them into darkness.

Katooni fumbled with her utility belt, drawing her glowrod and activating it. Yellow light spilled into the chamber. She looked behind her to see her friends staring back at her.

“What now?” Byph asked, his voice echoing in the dark.

She hesitated. “Now…now we make it to the lower levels. We find a place to hide. Then…then we’ll figure out what’s going on.”

The others nodded. It wasn’t much of a plan, but it was a start. Heart aching and mind reeling, Katooni led the way as they crept down the passage, into the depths of Coruscant.


End file.
